The CPaaSAA team just got back from Channel Partners 2023 in Las Vegas. In addition to really wishing we had tickets for the upcoming Formula 1 race (does anyone have tickets?), we had a great time meeting with many existing and future members.
The consistent theme from every one of our conversations this year was this: There is an exciting sense of change in the air. Everyone is working hard to create that next big thing that is going to take the market to the next level. It feels like a rubber band that’s pulled so tight it’s about to snap.
CPaaS is moving fast
We talked in depth with CPaaS and communications veterans Sinch, CM.com, IntelePeer, Telnyx, and Nuso on the show flow. Everyone is talking about new solutions, use cases, and paths to market beyond the historical developer-only APIs and IT features. Each vendor is taking a slightly different approach, but nobody is talking about basic CPaaS features anymore.
AI is table stakes
AI has been a big topic over the past 9 months, and this year’s Channel Partners was no different. Surprisingly though, AI was not the headliner for everyone at the show. Vendors made it clear that their offerings were AI-powered, but our conversations were around the use cases that were powered by AI rather than the AI itself.
We will see if this continues into the other shows this year, but it is amazing to see how quickly AI has gone from hot-new-thing to table stakes. The market is moving fast.
CPaaS has work to do for Channel success
We talked with many channel partners and TSBs at this year’s show. They are all excited about pulling CPaaS deeper into their portfolio, but they are looking for more from the CPaaS market. While some partners have landed big deals with traditional SMS and CPaaS APIs, everyone is looking for the big use cases that will propel CPaaS past UCaaS and CCaaS as a revenue driver.
The CPaaS industry is coming together
This feels like the right place, right time for the CPaaS industry to come together and deliver that next big thing. Customers and sales partners are asking for it. CPaaS providers and ecosystem vendors are working hard to deliver it.
It’s no surprise, then, that we have seen tremendous growth in CPaaSAA membership in the first 4 months of 2023. Vendors, communications providers, and analysts are coming together to share success stories and partner to overcome challenges. Many members are also engaging our advisory services partners for insights and assistance around strategy, market planning, go to market.
And we’re just getting started. May is going to be a big month for the alliance. We will be releasing the first State of CPaaS report on 16 May, and we have kicked off a busy schedule of panels, content, and activities to help our members build that next big thing.
We’ll see you next year at Channel Partners
Thank you to everyone we met with this week. This year’s Channel Partners Conference & Expo was a great. But we have a feeling next year’s expo will be a must-attend event. Based on what we’re seeing with our members, change is indeed in the air.
Robert has spent over 25 years using technology to solve operations challenges, improve employee experience, and create winning customer experiences. As CMO and head of product at IntelePeer, he pioneered the expansion of CPaaS beyond developers and into the enterprise with no-code/low-code automation, integrated AI, and off-the-shelf campaign and analytics tools. Robert loves creating new things and is always asking big "what if" and "what's next" questions. Today he is working with technology and communications providers to expand their offerings, effectively reach new buyers, and create value for customers and shareholders alike.
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